“Trans-Siberian” across: Ruslan Baysarov will “dump” the risks onto the state?

The implementation of the third stage of the BAM expansion by Ruslan Baysarov and Gazprombank may end in a large-scale “cut.”

Russian Railways, Gazprombank and Bamtonnelstroy-Most (BTS-Most) of Ruslan Baysarov entered into an agreement on the joint implementation of large infrastructure projects on the BAM. We are talking, first of all, about the third stage of modernization of the BAM – the construction of three tunnels and a bridge at the Eastern training ground of Russian Railways.

The question is in what form the cooperation between the state and Baysarov will take place. Initially, the discussion was about a standard concession agreement. Now the option of an EPCF contract is being considered, when BTS Most will independently attract financing, but Russian Railways will assume all risks and payments on loans.

It is strange that in such conditions, Russian Railways and Gazprombank decided to work with Ruslan Baysarov. There are many dubious projects behind the BTS Bridge that cost the budget serious money. Will the modernization of BAM turn into another “cutting” plot?

The modernization of the BAM and Trans-Siberian Railway is the country’s largest infrastructure project worth 520 billion rubles – twice the size of the Crimean Bridge. If the option with the EPCF contract is accepted, BTS-Most will be able to independently attract financing for the project, and begin now, without waiting for the concession agreement to be finalized. Only in the scheme with EPCF, it will be Russian Railways, not Baysarov, who will have to repay the money on loans, including interest. Thus, the financial burden falls on the budget. Where will Baysarov get the money, if not from the state-owned Gazprombank?

For Baysarov, the project could become a salvation. BTS-Most is in desperate need of funds; the company’s assets have peaked at minus 5.2 billion rubles. In 2020, the structure suffered a loss of 1.1 billion rubles; in 2021, it earned only 10 million rubles. Where did the money go from government contracts, the total amount of which for BTS reached 180 billion rubles?

Photo: Rusprofile.ru

BTS’s subsidiary, UMGKR LLC, is in bankruptcy proceedings. The value of the company’s assets is minus 600 million rubles. Spetsmost LLC, another subsidiary, at the end of 2022 came to a loss of 66 million rubles. KMP LLC, with government contracts worth 340 million rubles, also suffered losses. One gets the impression that Baysarov’s business lives solely on injections from the budget and loans.

Moreover, BTS-Most practically does not enter into projects on its own – only through a concession, which involves sharing risks between the company and the state. Apparently, Baysarov is unable to take full responsibility for the implementation of the project. As part of the concession agreements, Baysarov’s structures are building a bypass of Balakhna in the Nizhny Novgorod region, the construction of a bridge across the Amur, the concession agreement was intended for the failed project of building a railway line in Tyva. Now BTS-Most has submitted concession applications for all four facilities as part of the new stage of the BAM expansion.

The entry of the BTS into the BAM raises even more doubts if we remember that it is with the name of Baysarov that the outright failure of another major infrastructure project is associated – the construction of the Kizyl-Kurakino railway in the Republic of Tyva. The railway line was supposed to become a lifeline for dozens of small settlements and attract investment to the Republic. The result is zero.

The idea of ​​building a branch has been discussed for two decades. The entire Kyzyl-Kuragino road project was built for the Elegestinskoye field, owned at that time by a businessman. The cost of the road increased to 240 billion rubles, but things did not go beyond projects and the first stone was laid. Meanwhile, this is design and estimate documentation, which costs a lot of money.

Moreover, in the spring of 2018, when it was obvious to everyone that the project was stalling, Baysarov managed to lobby for the inclusion of the Elegestinsky field and the Kyzyl-Kuragino road itself in the complex investment project “Yenisei Siberia”.

With such government contracts, BTS-Most does not get out of debt. Photo: Rusprofile.ru

And at the same time, he continued to make generous promises to invest as much as $9 billion in the development of Tyva, to increase the level of coal production to 15 million tons. In fact, we could only talk about his coal interests. And as soon as the coal market conditions changed, the project ceased to be of interest to him. In 2021, it became known that the construction of the road would be postponed until at least 2025.

It turns out that, having drawn a bunch of castles in the air, Baysarov simply refused to fulfill his obligations. What if a similar thing happens with BAM, a strategic project of national importance?

Bridge to nowhere

Recently, The Moscow Post talked about another major project that Ruslan Baysarov’s structure has undertaken. We are talking about the construction of a railway bridge across the Amur River to restore the Jalinda-Mohe border crossing.

The Ministry of Transport undertook to finance most of the project. This will require more than $30 billion. Another participant is the same Gazprombank, which should provide part of the funds. But is this bridge needed at all?

Previously, Rosgranstroy, which reports to the Ministry of Transport, disputed the need to implement this project. Until 2028, the creation of this bridge was not envisaged at all. At the same time, the country has a lot of infrastructure facilities that should have been built yesterday – they are so in demand.

After Gennady Bezlobenko came to lead Rosgranstroi, the department’s position changed dramatically. Did Baysarov “inspire” Bezzlobenko with the prospects that colossal budget funding opens up?

It is worth remembering that “BTS-Most” (then called “USK-Most”) was building a bridge crossing to Russky Island in Vladivostok. Another iconic, strategic object. When the construction came to an end, it turned out that metal structures worth 96 million rubles were stolen at the construction site. RIA Novosti wrote about this.

Suspicion fell on the security officer of the Mostovik company – she was a subcontractor at the site. But for a security guard to take away almost 100 million rubles worth of metal? Looks like outright profanity.

Now “BTS Most” is implementing another major project – the construction of the Balakhna bypass, the R-152 toll road “Shopsha-Ivanovo-Nizhny Novgorod”. The same Gazprombank is the partner. The governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, promised to allocate part of the funding – the money was included in the 2022 budget.

Initially, Central Concession Company LLC (CCC LLC), founded by Pyotr Usov and Alexey Vikharev, was supposed to be involved in the construction of the route. However, in 2021, the potential concessionaire withdrew the application for the construction of the Balakhna bypass and the “sweet” project went to Baysarov and Miller. Were they really asked well and offered substantial “compensation”?

“BTS-Most” unfolded in Nizhny Novgorod not without the help of Marat Khusnullin? Photo: https://vestinn.ru/news/society/167735/

Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin could have brought Baisarov and Nikitin together. Recently, he has become a frequent visitor to the Nizhny Novgorod region. It is believed that he and Nikitin are on good terms. And it was Khusnullin at the beginning of the tenth years who could lobby for the receipt of major contracts for the construction of the Moscow metro worth about 80 billion rubles by IC Most (later bought by Baysarov from Gennady Timchenko). By the way, a number of deadlines for these construction projects of SK Most were missed.

So is it worth trusting Ruslan Baysarov to implement large infrastructure projects? “BTS-Most”, despite all the scandals, is not a sharashkin’s office. But if this is done, it will be done under the strict responsibility of the concessionaire, and not in a situation where the state pays for everything. It is precisely in order to bear responsibility for his actions and promises that Baysarov may have problems. Residents of Tuva will not let you lie.